Self-Belief Beyond Sport

I think a key to an athlete's success is their unwavering belief in themselves and their own ability. This self-belief does not always cross over to skills outside of sport and can contribute to the struggle athletes' face on retirement.

Beliefs are aspects of life that we believe to hold true. What I believe determines my reality, what you believe determines your reality. So how do we come to believe different things? It often comes down to our experiences, particularly our experiences growing up.

Research shows that our experiences within our first 7 years of life are very instrumental in determining our beliefs, in shaping our beliefs. They can be shaped by our parents and what we see happening with our parents and around our community, or church. Think now about what you believe. What do you believe about your abilities, what do you believe about life?

I mean we all believe the world is round. But at one time in life, people thought the world was flat. And that was their reality. They hadn't seen anything different.

So, what sort of beliefs are helping you or holding you back?

Some beliefs are great like "I am going to the Olympics." I had a self-belief that I could do it and so that drove me to train and persist until I achieved it in 2000. I am sure there are things that you pushed for and created because you believed you could do it. I am also sure there are some things you are not doing because you believe they are not possible.

In particular, what do you believe about your ability to succeed in areas outside of sport? What do you believe about finance? Are you good with money? What about career, relationships, health.

I have now created an amazing life after sport because I broke through beliefs about what I could have in life. I chose to believe that I could continue on doing what I was doing, traveling around the world and have an amazing relationship that supported that. Before that I limited myself by thinking I had to choose between one and another. How often do we think we have to choose between one thing and the other? And then that becomes our life - one of compromise.

Think about some things you might have believed from when you were young – are you good enough, pretty enough, do you have what it takes? Sport is easy, math is hard. The list goes on, the beliefs list. It all goes back to points in time when you decide to believe something.

For example, I was at an airport watching this frustrated man berate his wife after a struggle through security. They had 3 tiny kids with them looking uncomfortable as their parents argued. The eldest little boy stuck up for his mom at one point saying it was not her fault. The father was doing the best he could with a difficult situation, however, at the heat of the moment he told the boy "life is hard and you had better get used to it".

This little kid is probably 7-8 years old, and with that statement from his father a new belief was most likely shaped right there. I can just imagine him in 20 years time thinking "life is hard" and his life reflecting that. This is the power of the mind in determining our life. The good news is that beliefs can change. The first step is awareness. When you realize that you can choose what you believe then you are a big step forward in creating success in anything you desire, including beyond sport.

Annette Huygens Tholen is a former Int'l beach volley and Olympian, a Master Results Coach and Int'l speaker empowering athletes to reproduce emotional and financial success. Visit for free mini-E-course.

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